Framed Art Pillows

Hi, I am Lynne, a UK quilter from Lily’s Quilts. As soon as I saw Lu Summers’ new line for Moda, Summersville, I had lots of ideas for quilts and pillows. I also wanted to come up with a quick and simple pillow project to use the statement print layer cake slices we probably all have in our stash. These pillows are quick to make and are a piece of art for your sofa. They would also make great gifts for friends who might not appreciate the fussiness, intricacy and patchworkiness of some quilted pillows but would love a bold and simple statement piece for their home. If you make a version of this pillow, I would love to see it in my Lily’s Quilts Flickr group.

One layer cake slice per pillow

Two 2″ WOF strips of moda bella solids in a colour coordinating with the layer cake slice for the first frame

Two 5/8″ WOF strips of moda bella solids in a colour coordinating with the “mount” for the skinny strip frame

One FQ of fabric for the “mount” (cross hatch fabric in these pillows)

Three WOF strips of black moda bella solids for the binding

1/2 yd fabric for the backing

Batting / fusible fleece for the pillow front and for the pillow back if desired

1. Decide whether you want to use a whole layer cake slice or whether you want to trim it due to the fall of the pattern on it. I left the blue layer cake slice whole but trimmed the red and black ones into rectangles to accommodate the pattern on them.

2. Cut two 2″ WOF strips of a fabric that coordinates with the layer cake slice. If you have cut the layer cake slice significantly smaller than 10″ square, you will need to increase the width of these strips or use more of the “mount” fabric to reach the same sized pillow as I made (19 1/2″ square). I used moda bella solids natural here. Sash the layer cake slice. Press towards the sashing strip.

3. Cut two 5/8″ WOF slices of a moda bella solid that coordinates with the fabric you have chosen for the mount. Moda recommends the following bella solids to coordinate with Summersville: christmas red, bettys orange, horizon blue, kelly green and black. Sash the layer cake slice again. You will end up with a visible strip of 1/8″ when this strip is fully pieced. Press toward the skinny strip.

4. Cut the FQ of the mount fabric (I used the Summersville cross hatch fabrics for this) into four strips of 4 1/2″ X 22″. Sash the layer cake slice once again, press towards the mount fabrics and trim to the size required for your pillow (I trimmed to 19 1/2″ square).

5. Baste a square of wadding to the back of the pillow top. I used a fusible fleece {I ironed on and did not quilt the pillow top because I prefer to keep it simpler}. You could do the same with wadding and basting spray or you could quilt the pillow top onto the batting. I do not use a backing fabric to the fusible fleece but you may want to.

6. To make the pillow backing, cut two pieces of backing fabric {I used a moda cross weave in natural} 19 1/2″ X 13″ and 19 1/2″ X 10″. If you want a padded back, cut two pieces of wadding or fusible fleece and attach to the backing fabric by fusing or using basting spray or with some light quilting. Again you may wish to add backing fabric to these sections but I do not.

7. Cut one 1 1/2″ WOF strip of binding fabric {I used moda bella solid washed black} and bind one of the 19 1/2″ edges of each of the two pieces of backing fabric as you would bind a quilt but using one layer of fabric rather than a folded binding.

8. Pin the pillow top to the backing right sides out with the bound edges of the backing crossing over each other with a 3-4″ overlap {backing overlap shown in picture below} with one of the bound edges underneath the other. Sew the pillow front and back together with a long wide zig zag stitch along the edges.

9. Cut two 1 1/2″ WOF strips of binding fabric. I used moda bella solids washed black. Join these together with a diagonal seam. Bind the pillow as you would a quilt but using a single rather than a folded binding. I choose a single binding as it is less bulky than a folded binding but you can use a folded binding if you prefer.

One 19 1/2″ X 19 1/2″ pillow. I made a set of three: red, blue and black.

Lynne Goldsworthy is a modern British quilter who blogs at Lily's Quilts.She designs and makes quilts for magazines, books and fabric companies.She is one of the team of three modern quilters who co-run the modern quilting online magazine, Fat Quarterly and the annual Fat Quarterly London Quilting Retreat.

The individual designers featured on this website ultimately hold the copyright for their projects and designs posted on the Moda Bake Shop. Patterns are not intended for sale or digital distribution. All items made from Moda Bake Shop patterns are for personal, non-commercial use only, unless given explicit written permission from the design owner to sell finished products made from their pattern tutorials featured on the Moda Bake Shop.